Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.

Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!

I’ll tell you what happens in Demon’s Souls when you die. You come back as a ghost with your health capped at half. And when you keep on dying, the alignment of the world turns black and the enemies get harder. That’s right, when you fail in this game, it gets harder. Why? Because fuck you is why.

I read in a few previews that framerate is pretty horrific, and areas are really small, meaning you see lots of loading screens. It that true in the final build?

There are 5 separate areas, and yeah, there's like a 5 second load for each one, hardly brutal imo.
The biggest load is when you first start the game, takes maybe 12 seconds to be ready to go.
Each area is actually a fairly good size for a game. I never really thought, "Man, I wish this area was way bigger."

When it comes to the framerate, it chugs a bit here and there, but it's a non-issue, and definitely not horrific.

I've found that after putting roughly 4 hours into it, I'm definitely happy with my purchase. It's not like you're moving around almost stepping on animals either. It's more realistic than that...there's animals in realistic numbers, placed in their proper environments. I've yet to do any night time shooting.

Here's the full unlockables lists and camera specs for those interested...DO NOT click if you want to go in not knowing stuff....

There is a nice selection of herbivores, carnivores, scavengers, small mammals, birds and reptiles. There are a total of 58 animals to unlock in the National Geographic animal database. The animals are ordered in ascending pages on the in-game Field Guide, starting from the leftmost animal on page 1 (of 10) and rotating in a clockwise direction from left to right (top row) and from right back to left (bottom row), then onto the next page and so forth.

Good to know that. Either it was a very early preview, or the previewer just didn't like it and was just trying to complain about shit. Another question - are the animals aggressive at all? Like, will a Rhino charge you down, or a Lion attack you at all? I'm all for exploring the Savannah, but I'd like some realistic animal behavior.

Good to know that. Either it was a very early preview, or the previewer just didn't like it and was just trying to complain about shit. Another question - are the animals aggressive at all? Like, will a Rhino charge you down, or a Lion attack you at all? I'm all for exploring the Savannah, but I'd like some realistic animal behavior.

Yeah, the animals react like how you'd expect. They don't let you near them, some are aggresive...some are skittish. That's a part of the whole thing. Trying to get close enough for the best shots is what it's about. Hiding behind plants, or climbing certain trees, and then sitting as still as possible...stuff like that. It's actually really realistic.

Example- I received an email from National Geographic wanting me to get a photo for their cover of an elephant showering itself with water. I knew of a place that had a waterfall, so I headed there. Sure enough there were elephants, and I parked the jeep a distance away and went in on foot, making sure they couldn't see me. Then I sat myself behind some boulders and waited until one of them walked more into view, and then I tried to step out a bit more for a better angle.

OOPS....the elephant suddenly turns towards me and start flapping it's ears and grunting...I stand my ground (I want this shot) but the elephant wouldn't have it as it then beagan to walk towards me, and then start thrashing it's trunk back and forth and bellowing. The edges of the screen start flashing red to warn me that if I don't get the hell away it's gonna charge. I stop crouching and begin to back away until the elephant relaxed and began to turn away to resume what it was doing previously.

I noticed one of the other elephants was grabbing water with it's trunk and then splashing its legs with it, I figured this one would be my best chance to get a showering elephant shot, and sure enough, I point my camera at it, frame it nicely (It was important to get a vertical shot for the cover of the magazine) and waited. After about another 10-15 seconds it starts to raise it's trunk and spray water in the air onto it's head. I take a couple shots, and knew I had what I needed. Ran back to the jeep, drove back to the base camp, and uploaded my shots to the client. The rated the photo, and gave it a grade, and sent me the payment according to how googd the photo was. Pretty cool that when I go over to the bookshelf in the base camp tent, the cover has my photo on it now, stating that it's about the bathing behavior od elephants.

I’ll tell you what happens in Demon’s Souls when you die. You come back as a ghost with your health capped at half. And when you keep on dying, the alignment of the world turns black and the enemies get harder. That’s right, when you fail in this game, it gets harder. Why? Because fuck you is why.

Are you talking about Siren there? I see it all the time in GAME and EB.

I think he's talking about Afrika there.

Anyway, if anyone is wondering what happened to National Geographic publishing this game in the US, it looks like they might've dropped it from their lineup. It really sucks that Sony doesn't put a bit more money into localising games like Afrika, Aquanaut's Holiday or Yakuza 3/Kenzan. They may not make a ton of money but surely most of the costs have already been sunk into them and they've nothing to lose?

Are you talking about Siren there? I see it all the time in GAME and EB.

I think he's talking about Afrika there.

Anyway, if anyone is wondering what happened to National Geographic publishing this game in the US, it looks like they might've dropped it from their lineup. It really sucks that Sony doesn't put a bit more money into localising games like Afrika, Aquanaut's Holiday or Yakuza 3/Kenzan. They may not make a ton of money but surely most of the costs have already been sunk into them and they've nothing to lose?

I'm just glad they gave it an English translation (Afrika/Hakuna Matata and Aquanaut's Holiday) and that the games are all region free. I can import it for 56.99 USD and free shipping. That's actually a little cheaper than if I would have bought it in the store, although shipping time isn't going to be overnight. I do wish Yakuza 3 would get localized or get a Chinese/English translation, too, though. Has there been any word on that possibility?

Yeah, it charges, and the screen fades out. You groggily wake up back at base camp, with your partner (the woman) looking down at you telling you not to get yourself killed for a photo. Any photos you took prior to the attack are gone.

It's true that it sucks they aren't bringing it over for a NA release, because this game would not only sell to guys/gals like us, but I could see this selling like crazy to parents who use it as a learning tool with their kids. There's lots of info about the animals in this game. With National Geographic behind it, it would do great I would think.

I'm glad that a bunch of you are getting this game now, it really needs support, I'd love to see more games like this be made.:) Like I said before, a version that is all about dinosaurs would be a day one purchase for me. Imagine tracking a T-rex, watching it stalk its prey so you can get that perfect "takedown" shot. I mean, the engine is there, just change up the maps, make it land more like the Jurassic period, and fill it with dinosaurs...how could that suck?

Scotty that actually sounds really cool. I don't think I would have the patience for the game with my time being limited and all, but I wish I did.

That's the thing, it's a pretty great game for just popping in and doing one assignment. You can take however long you want to complete each one, and there's always the fun of just bombing around the landscapes, and taking photos for fun and posting them up to compare with other people's. There's also the photo contests they hold from time to time.

My girlfriend has offered to get me this as an Easter gift (both of us have given up choccy...at least for a while) and whilst I don't want her to spend that much money on me...well... I really want this game!

Anyone know of somewhere I could order it with slightly faster delivery time than two weeks? I'm horribly impatient.

YesAsia might be slightly quicker. But Renchi is cheaper, and it'll probably still get here before Easter. You can also choose a decent shipping method instead of airmail and get it within five days or so.

@vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming!@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!

My game finally arrived two days ago, but I only managed to play it for a bit yesterday. It really is a fantastic game. As a result, I've only gotten 4 hours of sleep. But it was worth it.

I've done a couple of missions so far and apparently I'm not as shitty a photographer as I had reckoned.
Once my initial camera was replaced with the alpha 100, I could really get some beautiful shots. Although I'm still toying around with my settings to get the best rapid movement photos.

This game just feels so complete for a photography game. The NatGeo data in the game regarding all the animals is a really good motivator to go out there and find new ones. Also, I've never really bothered with camera settings in real life and felt a bit overwhelmed at first, but experimenting with aperture, exposure and such is actually fun and easy and really rewarding. The camera manual is great for photography virgins like myself.

I think I'll be playing this for a good long while. Even my girlfriend (who has absolutely no love for video games) was genuinly interested in trying it.

My game finally arrived two days ago, but I only managed to play it for a bit yesterday. It really is a fantastic game. As a result, I've only gotten 4 hours of sleep. But it was worth it.

I've done a couple of missions so far and apparently I'm not as shitty a photographer as I had reckoned.
Once my initial camera was replaced with the alpha 100, I could really get some beautiful shots. Although I'm still toying around with my settings to get the best rapid movement photos.

This game just feels so complete for a photography game. The NatGeo data in the game regarding all the animals is a really good motivator to go out there and find new ones. Also, I've never really bothered with camera settings in real life and felt a bit overwhelmed at first, but experimenting with aperture, exposure and such is actually fun and easy and really rewarding. The camera manual is great for photography virgins like myself.

I think I'll be playing this for a good long while. Even my girlfriend (who has absolutely no love for video games) was genuinly interested in trying it.

The Chinese version isn't even called that. As it is, I like Hakuna Matata better anway.

Grinch, I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but this game is definitely worth its price, if your into these kinds of games. Especially because there are so few great titles in this particular segment of games.

I don't know, sell some bodily fluids or something or go on a ramen diet for a few weeks . I only wound up spending 40 euros on it, which is even pretty cheap, considering regular PS3 game pricing here in Europe (60-70 euros).

Just observing the animals interact with each other from a distance is pretty cool. Yesterday there was a gazelle that seperated from the herd and came really close to me, allowing me to try some shots with various settings. When it finally darted of I got some really nice sharp close-up action shots. Then I spent some time chasing vervet monkeys around the base camp, until I chased one up a tree and got a shot that came in handy not much later. There's just so much to experiment with, it makes me wonder when I'm going to get tired of this. Probably not anytime soon.

As for framerate issues some people mentioned; I haven't seen any so far. You'll notice it dips slightly when you swing around the camera a lot, but when taking pictures it hasn't bothered me one bit. Even while driving. The saving does take a while, but there's really no need to save unless your going to quit. For a save file that's almost 400MB in size, it's acceptable. Same with loading. I'm an impatient person, but since the game is so relaxing anyway the small load times don't bother me at all.

At one point, I did think "if only the game had a first person mode". Then I pressed the start button and my only niggle with the game was gone.

so with this and Yakuza 3, Sony would actually have me completely convinced that the PS3 is the better console.
Now I'm not particularly well known on the board, but that's pretty drastic seeing as I've never considered the PS3 to be anything other than a more expensive 360 with (slightly) less interesting exclusives overall.

But Afrika, Yakuza 3, Yakuza Kenzan!, LBP, Linger in Shadows, Pixeljunk, supposed exclusive L.A Noire and Noby Noby Boy make PS3 the better console for me, and make it the more progressive console in my view, which is what's most important.

However, take away Afrika and Yakuza, and I stop giving a shit about the rest.

Just, wow. Way to fail, Sony.

Someone who thought your console and its exclusive main draws (MGS, Tekken) were a fucking joke is now ready to switch over. Jump ship. Sell the 360.

Except you're too fucking oblivious and insipid to just release games that are already on the fucking console
losing you my business until I absolutely need Blu Ray (not going to happen for a while, if ever)

The Chinese version isn't even called that. As it is, I like Hakuna Matata better anway.

Grinch, I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but this game is definitely worth its price, if your into these kinds of games. Especially because there are so few great titles in this particular segment of games.

I don't know, sell some bodily fluids or something or go on a ramen diet for a few weeks . I only wound up spending 40 euros on it, which is even pretty cheap, considering regular PS3 game pricing here in Europe (60-70 euros).

Just observing the animals interact with each other from a distance is pretty cool. Yesterday there was a gazelle that seperated from the herd and came really close to me, allowing me to try some shots with various settings. When it finally darted of I got some really nice sharp close-up action shots. Then I spent some time chasing vervet monkeys around the base camp, until I chased one up a tree and got a shot that came in handy not much later. There's just so much to experiment with, it makes me wonder when I'm going to get tired of this. Probably not anytime soon.

As for framerate issues some people mentioned; I haven't seen any so far. You'll notice it dips slightly when you swing around the camera a lot, but when taking pictures it hasn't bothered me one bit. Even while driving. The saving does take a while, but there's really no need to save unless your going to quit. For a save file that's almost 400MB in size, it's acceptable. Same with loading. I'm an impatient person, but since the game is so relaxing anyway the small load times don't bother me at all.

At one point, I did think "if only the game had a first person mode". Then I pressed the start button and my only niggle with the game was gone.

On a more sober note, I wonder how long this game will be playable- in the tourist sense.
As in, how long will it be before you've seen everything and you're at the point where you know what you're going to see before it happens when you play.

Also: Phonebone, you're a bad man. I have a wedding and a holiday to save up for. My other-half would kill me if I ordered this

Grinch,

This particular game was translated, yes. However. I don't think I'm going to bank on it being easily importable by the time I get a PS3. I can picture this becoming one of those expensive eBay games. And fuck that.

Yakuza is unplayable in sushi-speak, which I thought was self evident, hence the need for localization.

so with this and Yakuza 3, Sony would actually have me completely convinced that the PS3 is the better console.
Now I'm not particularly well known on the board, but that's pretty drastic seeing as I've never considered the PS3 to be anything other than a more expensive 360 with (slightly) less interesting exclusives overall.

But Afrika, Yakuza 3, Yakuza Kenzan!, LBP, Linger in Shadows, Pixeljunk, supposed exclusive L.A Noire and Noby Noby Boy make PS3 the better console for me, and make it the more progressive console in my view, which is what's most important.

However, take away Afrika and Yakuza, and I stop giving a shit about the rest.

Just, wow. Way to fail, Sony.

LA Noire hasn't been PS3 exclusive since Sony dropped it like 3 years ago and there's a pretty good reason why they dropped it, Team Soho are a mediocre developer.

As for Yakuza, it's a Sega game, how exactly is it Son'y fault that Sega don't want to localise it? And what makes you think Sony would localise it specifically for you? As much as I love the Yakuza series, there's no getting passed the fact that the first two sold like crap in the US.

I've no idea why you're bitching about Afrika though, it could actually end up coming out in the US/Europe, we just haven't heard anything about it since National Geographic were meant to localise it.

Not to turn this into a Sony vs. everybody else thread, just wanted to add my two cents.
The Sony exclusives (MGS, Tekken) have never appealed to me in the first place. I never owned a PSOne or PS2. This is my first generation owning a Sony console. I must say, I'm quite impressed.

I like the interface, I like the Blu-Ray drive (I had a decent dvd collection and now I have a decent BR collection) and I prefer its controller over the 360's. It's quickly becoming my favorite console and I currently own all three. I do have the 60gb Pal version with PS2 BC, SACD, etc. which might make a difference.
I prefer Sony's open strategy (regarding regions, USB, wireless protocols and Linux) to Microsoft's. Not to mention MS's "charge for everything" policy.

My PS3 library consists mostly of exclusives (Valkyria Chronicles, WipeoutHD, Flower, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance etc.) and I find myself hardly touching my Wii or 360 as I'm short on spare time already.
Games like Hakuna Matata kill my spare time as I'll probably spend hours on this getting better shots and lounging around animals, before even considering putting another game in there.

Yes, Sony is extremely retarded for not bringing this over here (yet), but at least it's out there and works on any region. Fortunately we've got dual language in this game, otherwise I'd be pretty frustrated with them right now.

Sorry again Grinch;-), everyone with even a slight interest should be able to play this. Luckily me and my girlfriend have seperate households and seperate bank accounts. I have plenty of expensive hobbies and couldn't think of giving them up right now for anyone's sake. A wedding and a holiday are both more important than any game, though and especially the former can cost an arm and a leg. It almost makes me want to buy you this as a wedding present.

Hehe, the wedding isn't for another year yet, but we do need to save LOTS (and for a house too, renting at the moment) so I'd be waiting a while!

Like you though I do have expensive hobbies, my post made things sound worse than they are. For the last 4 months I've done a lot of Rock Climbing and shall continue to now we've got the nice weather to get out and about. Buying ropes, harnass, clips etc and even just driving out to decent crags is pricey!

And I've recently taken up Scuba Diving (another game I want is Aquanauts Holiday!!) which is far from cheap

So whilst I moan I can't afford it, I probably could if I put aside one of those for a while. I'm currently hatching schemes to make myself some more money.

Anyway, back on topic, I can't wait to play this game and now you have it PhoneBone I demand you add me to your friends list (if I'm not on it already!) and send me cute pictures from Hakuana Matata of Tigers or Lions or any "Big Cat".